


Art of Waiting

by undeadrabbit



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Post-Canon, Songfic, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-05
Updated: 2018-09-05
Packaged: 2019-07-07 06:11:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15902463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/undeadrabbit/pseuds/undeadrabbit
Summary: Akira comes home, and Goro greets him with a smile.





	Art of Waiting

**Author's Note:**

> Based on  Iolite  by Ghost.
> 
> Lyrics also by Ghost.
> 
> Feel free to listen to that first! Or just listen to it. You don't have to read this (you might enjoy it better if you don't TBH).
> 
> First fanfic I'm posting here. Please tell me how I did!
> 
> (I didn't want to start with a songfic considering the bad rep those have gotten lately but the idea wouldn't leave -- )

_You returned with an “I'm home.”_   
_And stayed by me._   
_Stopped by the stoplight_   
_Are things you want to say_

_._

_._

_._

  
“Honey, I'm home!”

Goro stood from the couch and padded his way to Akira on bare feet. He gave a charming smile as Akira moved closer to wrap Goro in a hug. Nuzzling the raven's shoulder, Goro murmured a soft 'welcome back’ before Akira pulled away.

Something seemed wrong, Goro thought, as Akira cupped the side of his face. There was a brief flicker of sadness in his gray eyes that had Goro's stomach twisting on itself.

He had no chance to comment on it, however, as Akira quickly shut the door and began removing his shoes.

Goro watched him, a little concerned.

“Wearing my shirt, huh?” Akira said, mischievous.

Still put off, Goro chewed the inside of his cheek, thinking if he should just ask straight out before deciding against it. “It's comfortable,” he answered with a huff, crossing his arms over the button down.

Akira laughed softly, watching the other from behind his fringe as he set his shoes aside. “Couldn't be bothered to put on pants either, huh?”

Goro's cheeks flared and he closed his legs, suddenly self conscious. He tugged the hem down with a small pout.

“Don't hide it, your legs are beautiful.” Akira said it with a singsong tone.

“Shut up…”

Laughing again, Akira straightened and stepped deeper into their shared apartment, fingers trailing along Goro's waist. It wasn't sexual, or even teasing; just intimate, and it acted as a beckon for Goro to come closer. They found themselves in the kitchen in a few short steps.

As per usual, Akira quickly slid on an apron, almost in one smooth motion from all the years of practice. He turned to Goro with a lazy smile, throwing another apron to the brunette.

“Really?” Goro asked with a lopsided half-smile. He slid on the apron as well and moved next to Akira, who was preheating the oven. “I'm a disaster in the kitchen,” he said.

Akira lightly poked his cheek. Goro puffed it out. “Help me anyway.”

Goro hummed before pretending to bite at Akira's finger. “Fine. What's for dinner?”

“Sojiro wants to add something to the menu, so I'm gonna try cooking it,” Akira explained. “It's espresso beef. Pretty interesting right?”

It was. Goro's eyes widened in interest and he hummed.

The former phantom thief grinned. “I tried it; it's pretty good. I feel like it's gonna be a hit, so I don't want Sojiro getting the brunt of the work.” He pulled out his phone, unlocked it, then with a pensive sound turned to Goro. “Love, could you start prepping?”

Love. Goro's heart twisted a little but he smiled despite it. “Sure,” he assented as he moved to rest his chin on Akira's shoulder and read through the ingredients. “Well… I'm not confident slicing beef. I'll handle the spices, is that fine?”

Akira pressed a kiss to the side of his head, lips stretched into a smile Goro was all too familiar with but still not used to. “Of course, sweetheart.”

Blushing in embarrassment, Goro pushed Akira into the counter. Akira only barely managed to block him as he laughed.  
.  
.  
.

 _Hung on that lifeline_  
_Was your heart_  
_Let's stop here_  
_Let's go a little too far_  
.  
.  
.  
It took a while, but it was worth it, Goro decided.

The beef was tender in a way that almost melted, and the espresso helped bring out the flavors while introducing a kind of intoxicating spin. It might be redundant with a cup of coffee, but it didn't really matter; not when pure espresso sat happily in his mouth. It was delicious and not as demanding to make as a regular cup of coffee, it seemed.

“It's delicious,” Goro finally said. Akira beamed at him.

“It is right? Might also be because I used your favorite,” he added with a little grin.

Intrigued, Goro rolled the morsel in his mouth a little. “Oh,” he said around the piece, smiling a little. “So you did. Quite gourmet.”

Akira stuck his tongue out. “I'm required to be a gourmet chef, Goro.”

“I'm...lucky,” Goro said, smiling. Then he looked away a little, embarrassed at the words that slipped out, holding a fork up as if to cover his mouth - not that it helped.

He looked back, just for a moment, only to be struck by the complete adoration in Akira's gaze. His heart jumped a little and Goro found he couldn't hold the gaze for very long. “Wh...what?” He stammered.

Akira covered his mouth with his hand. He looked like he wanted to say something, like it almost pained him to keep it in. When he opened his mouth, his voice came out in a shaky whisper. “I'm just...glad. I'm happy.”

Pursing his lips, Goro looked to the window by their bed. “I'm glad you are,” he said after a moment. “I just...wish we could leave.”

Something sad overtook Akira's features. “You don't like it here?”

“The apartment's nice,” Goro said. “The city's nice. But… I just… wish I didn't have to just wait for you to come home everyday.” At Akira's downcast expression, he held the other's hand. “I know you want me to stay, but I -”

“You know you can't do that,” Akira said sadly. “You know I can't just...”

When Goro only fell silent and looked away, Akira moved to sit beside him, holding his face. “Hey, hey it's okay. I always come home. 5:15, on the dot, every time.”

Goro kept still, garnet locked on gray.

“Is...is that okay? Is this okay?”

He leaned into the touch. “...yeah.”

They finished their dinner, hands linked.  
.  
.  
.

 _Not sleeping til morning_  
_Look at the colors of the sky_  
_It's just a year_  
_Let's get out of here._

.  
.  
.  
After dinner, they relocated to the bed, both of them staring out at the night sky. Tokyo wasn't a good place to stay if you wanted to see the stars, but watching the city lights was good enough. This was good enough.

Akira was in one of his...clingy...moods, Goro realized. He didn't mind though, finding that nestling in Akira's arms was a privilege on its own. He let himself be enveloped, opting not to even try and pretend he didn't enjoy being a little spoon. Goro didn't have the heart to anyway, when Akira was like this. He could understand why.

Akira, meanwhile, simply held tightly onto him. One arm was draped over his waist, hand up the borrowed shirt as his thumb traced small circles on his skin. The other was wedged between his neck and the bed, wrapped around with his hand on his shoulder, pressing Goro flush against Akira's chest.

Goro relaxed in the raven's hold, letting his head hit the pillow while Akira seemed content to nuzzle the crook of his neck. Every now and then, he pressed tiny kisses that never really led anywhere but had a certain undertone of possessiveness. It was nice, and Goro reveled in it.

He turned his attention to the cityscape before them. The city was slowly dimming, but not by much; it was darker near the apartment complexes, providing a kind of dark frame around a bright skyline.

“It's really pretty,” Akira suddenly said. Goro hummed in reply, possibly sounding as sleepy as he felt. Akira's chest merely rumbled against his back.

“Sleepy?” He asked. Goro turned around in Akira's arms to face him, humming. He wrapped his arms around his partner and hid his face in the warmth of Akira's chest. It rumbled again with a soft laugh.

“I'm… really glad you're here, Goro…” Akira whispered, maybe a little tearfully.

Without looking up, he muttered: “Am I really?”

Gently, Akira pulled away. “Of course you are. You're here, in my arms -”

Frustrated, Goro pushed himself off the bed and away from Akira. He felt angry tears form in the corners of his eyes. “I love you, but  _you know_ I can't really stay. You're the only one who thinks I'm still -”

Two gunshots resounded.

Blood dripped from the corner of his lips, followed almost immediately by rivers of it framing Goro's eyes. Again, the familiar feeling of a bullet lodged right between his eyes filled his senses and cold blood gushed from it.

Panicked, Akira sat up and pulled him in, hugged him close, letting the blood soak into his shirt. Goro's face hid under his chin, against a rumbling throat that repeated the words “no, no, please stay” over and over again in his ear.

Eventually the blood dried and Goro looked as ever. Akira kissed his forehead, as if to kiss the bullet away.

Goro let Akira drag them both down.

“Akira?”

“...hm?” Akira didn't sound very enthusiastic.

“Am… I real?” He asked quietly. “Am I real when you're not here?”

_Am I just something you created to fill a void when you come home? Am I replica you can hug and have sex with when you're lonely? Am I -_

“Does it matter?” Akira asked quietly. “I...come home.”

 _And I wait for you,_ Goro thought. _Or_   _are you waiting for -_

“... It doesn't matter, I suppose,” Goro lied. “I'm sleepy… can we sleep?”

Akira smiled and Goro's chest guiltily fluttered. “I'm sorry, sweetheart. Of course.”

They drifted in each other's arms.  
.  
.  
.  
.

 _I waited in iolite_  
_Forever, until we could meet again_  
_Another today_  
_Another year and_  
_A thousand tomorrows_  
_And a thousand more to come..._

_Are right here..._

_Ah..._

 


End file.
